How to Improve the Four Language Skills (Part IV: Writing)

Writing is a process.

The fourth language skill is writing. Writing may be considered the most difficult of the languages skills and is thus a valid means for the assessment of the overall foreign language proficiency of learners. From my point of view, we can learn to write by reading good writing written by others, practicing writing ourselves, having our work corrected by a teacher or a friend, understanding and learning the corrections, and then rewriting correcting. One of the best ways to practice writing is to keep an English diary. Each day write from half a page to one page; write simply and clearly, don't worry about mistakes and keep on writing anyway. Another good way to practice English writing is to write letters to foreign pen pals. Furthermore, we can express our views by writing "Letters to the Editor." As long as we write something every day, we will gradually improve our writing.

There is only one way we can't learn English well-- if we don't learn it. However, with hard work, practice, and the right approach, English can be learned. If we keep studying steadily, day after day, constantly practicing the language and using it at every opportunity, we can little by little improve our listening , speaking, reading, and writing in English.

How to Improve the Four Language Skills (Pary III: Reading)

Reading is like climbing stairs.

Let's go on talking about reading. To read is to grasp language ,patterns from their written representation. In a second language, reading is usually taught to students who are already literate in the source language.We Chinese students spend more time in reading. In my opinion, if we want to advance in reading, we must enlarge our vocabulary and phrases. And we have to form a habit of reading foreign newspapers and magazines, such as the China Post the China News, and the Reader's Digest. They are all very helpful to the improvement of our reading . In addition, I always believe language, like music, has its own rhythm, and reading out loud helps memorization, conversation, and spelling. The most important thing for senior high school students is , when waking up in the morning or after getting home in the evening, to read English out loud assertively 10 or 20 times until our throats are dry. After reading something for a long time, first, we have memorized it, second, we have practiced pronunciation, and third, we have mastered the melody of English. After that, when we speak, maybe we can avoid speaking Chinese-style English. Indeed, this is the secret weapon for laying the foundation of reading.

How to Improve the Four Language Skills (Part II: Speaking)

How to Improve the Four Language Skills (Part II: Speaking)

Speaking is another target in foreign language learning. To speak a foreign language fluently, I think there is no loyal road except practice. Talking with foreigners face to face is the best policy. If this can not be done, get together a few times each week with a Chinese friend whose spoken English is approximately the same as yours. Choose a conversation topic each time and agree beforehand to speak only English. Don't worry if the other person can not correct all your mistakes or makes mistakes himself; far more important than being corrected is for you to open your mouth and practice speaking English. Besides, we can take part in a debate, conversation club or speech contest. These are all good approaches to the improving of our speaking ability.

How To Improve the Four Language (Part I: Listening)

How to Improve the Four Language Skills (Part I: Listening)

Hello, everyone. Happy Year of the Rat to you. As the new year begins, I wish you good luck in achieving everything. More importantly, I hope you can learn English well and com out on top in the New Year. Today, I'll teach you how to improve the four language skills.

As we know, language is used to convey the thoughts and feelings of one person to another. It can also be used as a medium of communication in technology, commerce, tourism, diplomacy, pop culture, and so on. Therefore, learning a foreign language,especially English, has become a fashion. But when we are learning a foreign language, we must pay much attention to the four language skills: listening,speaking, reading, and writing. The reading passage often becomes the basis for speaking practice, and a writing exercise may be developed from listening activities. Then we can make great progress in learning a foreign language.

According to my experience, listening is the first step of learning a language. When we talking with others, we must fully understand what they say. Otherwise, we can't communicate with them. The most convenient and the best way to train listening ability, I think, is to make the most of radio and television. The various English instruction programs on radio and television, such as ICRT, Discovery, and Studio Classroom, are very useful. For students at more advanced levels, listen to ICRT, which is a good way to improve your listening skills. Foreiign movies and television programs represent another very useful pedagogical device, where sound and sight are combined and mutually reinforced each other. But really listen and keep your eyes off those Cninese subtitles. Finally, we can select English language CDs available at moderate prices, covering evreything from pronunciation to grammar and conversation. These are very valuable. If we have a CD player at home, we can practice with the CDs whenever we have time.